UN cuts staff by 21% in budget-saving move

United Nations (UN) has cut 21 per cent of staff positions for the 2026 budget as part of cost-saving measures, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday (28 May). ‘Specifically, we have reduced 21 per cent of posts for 2026 – while minimising the impact on staff, facilitated by steps initiated in early 2024,’ Guterres stated during his address at the General Assembly on the UN80 initiative. ‘We have merged 11 teams into a common administrative platform serving 6,000 personnel in New York, with five additional duty stations to follow,’ he added. He noted that for the 2027 budget, the UN will continue these efforts by reducing senior hierarchy levels and beginning to cut senior positions, which is expected to expand further into the 2028 budget. Last year, Guterres launched the UN80 initiative, which includes operational audits to streamline expenditures. The reforms come amid reduced US contributions to the UN budget and a reassessment of funding for various programmes by the Trump administration. The UN80 initiative is a reform effort aimed at making the organisation more agile, cost-effective, and integrated to respond more effectively to global challenges amid geopolitical tensions and shrinking resources. The initiative also seeks to strengthen the UN’s performance in peace and security, sustainable development, human rights, and to build a more coherent system to deliver tangible results for people and the planet.